Hey Hey Hey, it’s Yogi Bear. It’s Christmas time at old Jellystone Park. Of course, Yogi, being a bear, is usually fast asleep. So, he’s never celebrated Christmas before. Now group of the Hanna/Barbera gang have gathered at the Jellystone Lodge for the annual Christmas Carnival. Last year there were some mysterious happenings that scared away a lot of the regulars. Now Mrs. Throckmorton, the owner of the lodge, is thinking about selling it so that a road can be paved there. Ranger Smith and the gang want to make this as uneventful as possible for her so that she’ll decide to keep the lodge, and the Christmas Carnival.
In attendance are Snagglepuss, Huckleberry Hound, Daddy and Auggie Dog, and Ranger Smith. Unfortunately, Auggie Dog plays his drum so loud that it wakes up Yogi and Boo Boo. Things don’t go smoothly when Yogi’s around. The only consolation is there aren’t any picnic baskets around for Yogi to steal. It’s going to be hard to make this a smooth event. Not only is Yogi awake, but the local hermit has been the one trying to ruin the party so that he can have peace and quiet in his cave. Sound like another famous anti-Christmas noise character you know? The kind you wouldn’t touch with an eleven and a half foot pole? Mrs. Throckmorton has also brought her nephew Snively, who is a spoiled brat. If he can’t have fun, he’ll do whatever he can to make sure that no one else does, either.
Yogi ends up becoming the hero as he stumbles into saving the day throughout the celebration. He wins all of the outdoor sports awards which further annoys bratty Snively. Of course, before long all is well and the Christmas Spirit finds its way to Snively and Herman the hermit.
Warner Brothers has come out with what I believe to be a wonderful new program to enhance their home video release catalog. Let’s face it. We all have a favorite film or television show that was never really a popular release with the general population. But that doesn’t matter to us, because we love it anyway. We wait forever in the hopes that the title will one day be available. Unfortunately, like anything else, video releases have to make money. If the studio does not believe that it will have broad enough appeal, the release will never see the light of day, nor your local favorite video store. The reality is very easy to understand. Millions of copies of a release have to be cut in order to make all of the preparation and processing viable. If that number isn’t a realistic projection, there isn’t going to be a release. But, now Warner Brothers has actually found a compromise, and at last hope for your obscure “gotta have” title, if it is owned by Warner Brothers, of course.
The Warner Archive Collection offers up hundreds of obscure titles that the studio has evaluated and found not viable as a commercial release. The catalog is growing almost by the day. For a nominal fee, not more than a standard DVD release, you can order a copy of these hard to find titles. Warner will then cut a DVD-R of that title and ship it to you direct. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. This is going to look like that bootleg copy your cousin makes in his basement. Wrong. The DVD-R comes in a solid case with a printed insert, just like in the stores. The disc is silk-screened and in color. The video quality varies somewhat. I’m not going to tell you that the audio and video are wonderful, but they are in better shape than cousin Hector’s bootleg, that I promise you. The discs do not contain extras, and the films are not restored or processed much as transfers. Still, it’s an incredibly grand idea, one I hope that all of the other studios adopt soon.
You can look at what there is to offer yourself at Warner Archive Collection
This is one of those Christmas specials that never became an annual tradition. It’s another perfect example of how good this Archive deal can be. I’m sure there are a few of you out there who wish they could see this again. Now you can, and for not that much cash. It’s a good deal all the way around. Hooray for Warner Archives. “Hooray for Christmas.”
